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Effects of hypercapnia on the lung
Author(s) -
Shigemura Masahiko,
Lecuona Emilia,
Sznajder Jacob I.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jp273781
Subject(s) - hypercapnia , lung , pathophysiology , intracellular , microbiology and biotechnology , signalling pathways , biology , signal transduction , neuroscience , medicine , respiratory system , pathology , anatomy
Gases are sensed by lung cells and can activate specific intracellular signalling pathways, and thus have physiological and pathophysiological effects. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), a primary product of oxidative metabolism, can be sensed by eukaryotic cells eliciting specific responses via recently identified signalling pathways. However, the physiological and pathophysiological effects of high CO 2 (hypercapnia) on the lungs and specific lung cells, which are the primary site of CO 2 elimination, are incompletely understood. In this review, we provide a physiological and mechanistic perspective on the effects of hypercapnia on the lungs and discuss the recent understanding of CO 2 modulation of the alveolar epithelial function (lung oedema clearance), epithelial cell repair, innate immunity and airway function.